Receptacle dumping mechanism



Dec. 30, 1941- D. E. MARSHALL- RECEPTACLE DUMPING MECHANISM Filed Dec.23, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 DONALD E. MARSHALL- g! 30, 1941-. D. E.MARSHALL 2,268,220

RECEPTACLE DUMP ING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 25,1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 v, 48a): 56 //v VEN TOR DONALD 5. Mnfis/mu HTTORNEYS D. E. MARSHALLRECEPTACLE DUMPING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 25, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INl/EN TOR HTTORNE Y5 DON/4L D f. MARI/7641i Patented Dec. 30, 1941 rUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECEPTACLE DUMPIN G MECHANISM Donald E.Marshall, Battle Creek, Mich., assignor to Kellogg Company, BattleCreek, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application December 23, 1938,Serial No. 247,323

3 Claims.

chines or devices in the process line of a cereal factory is explained.A tipple is simply an arrangement of parts including a conveyormechanism, by which a batch of cereal contained in a portable tank ishoisted from the floor and the 55 contents introduced to the conveyorsin such a manner as to feed the cereal evenly and without lumps to thenearest processing machine in the line.

processing machines. The tipple is illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4 andObjects of t the invention are to provide an 6, and these figures, inaddition, show a food or improved hoisting mechanism or tipple forrecereal tank in place ready to be hoisted by the ceiving and dumping areceptacle or a tank contipple. The tank is best illustrated in FiguresBtaining a batch of cereal onto a conveyor; to and4 and consistsessentiallyofanupper andlower provide an arrangement for locking therecep- :0 frame, des ted Z re p iv m e f metal .tacle in the tippletogether with means for pretubing welded together and bent into arectanguventing the hoisting of the tipple except when lar shape andsupporting between them the four the receptacle is locked in place; toprovide elecsides 3 of the tank. These sides may comprise tricalcircuits and devices for indicating when sheet metal and the upper framemember is of the tipple has reached its dumping and initial polargersize than the lower frame member so that sitions, and to prevent furthermovement of the the sides taper sli h war he b ttom as is tipple untilit has completed its prior movement; indicated in Figure 4. The framemember 2 to utilize a cable and drum mechanism for the carries a bottomplate 4 of metal which is sehoisting operation together with a devicefor incured to the frame in any suitable manner. dicating the conditionof slackness in the cable If desired, a P of tr sversely extendin 1311-and a control circuit which prevents operation bular members 5 may besecured to the bottom of the tipple until the cable has been renderedplate for a d o l pp e use Of the tut tbular members is advantageous inthat it elimi- Further objects and features will be apparent n es sha pmetal edges nd r d e h po ias the specification is perusedin connectionwith bility of introducing metal particles into the the accompanyingdrawings, in whichfood contents of the tank. The front or right- Figure1 is a side elevational view, partly in d d f the ta as s in Fi ure 1,carsection, of a combined dumping arrangement and ries a pair ofextensions 6 which serve as a bearconveyor which will hereinafter bedesignated 'a ing for a P r f Wheels the Wheels being (10ntipple forfeeding cereal to a battery f proc- 80 nected through an axle 8. Theother or leftessing machines, hand end of the tank carries a pair ofextensions Figure 2 is an enlarged end view of the tipple; at each SideOf the tank, which serve as a whil i stand for supporting the tank fromthe floor.

Figure 3 i top plan view of th same Brace members l0 (Figures 1 and 4)may be emhi I :5 ployed, if desired, to give rigidity to the exten-Figure 4 is an enlarged view, but looking at SiOhS the end of the tippleopposite from Figure 2, but Th s. in order to move the tank, it is simpnot showing the hood or upper portion of the necessary to P p that end fh k, to t which the stanchions or extensions are secured, Figure 5 showsa circuit for operating the tipand wheel the forward end on the wheelsI. A ple, including the dumping and conveying mechhandle (not shown) maybeprovided at the rear amsxm end of the tank for this purpose. Ifdesired, and Figure 6 is a fragmentary view showing a ba particularlywhen the tank is loaded with heav for locking a cereal-containingreceptacle in the foodstufi, Such as 00111, the end of e tank D- tippleand also an electrical means for determin- 11081128 from the Wheels 1 ybe ppo ed on a ing when the bar is in place and the receptacle isWheelable l g r lly ll of well-known conlocked in the tipple, ready tobe hoisted. Structioh, s ated.

A clearer understanding of a tipple which is As Stated hereinbefore. app is p y d about to be described will be had if the purpose for the PuOf hoisting a food tank. uc of such a device and its relation to othermaas described, Which y be filled with cereal from the floor onto asystem of conveyors in order to transport the cereal along the line tothe next processing machines. For this hoisting operation, the tank iswheeled into a frame shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 3, which isadapted to be moved around the arc of a circle to a position such as tocause the feed tank to dump its contents. This frame may consist of askeleton box made up of angle irons welded or riveted together and of asize suflicient to receive the tank.

Figure 1 shows one complete side of the frame Ila composed of the angleiron members I2 together with a diagonal strengthening member I3. Itwill be understood that there are four oi the hopper is preferably flat,as indicated at II.

similar sides except that the left-hand side memv ber as seen in Figure1 is not provided with the diagonal member I3. These side membersare allsecured together and the internal dimensions are such that the food tankcan be wheeled into position within the frame, moving in a direction asindicated by the arrow in; Figure 1 and securely locked in place, aswill be explained below. The front or righthand end of the frame, asseen in Figure 1, carries a U-shaped bar I4 which extends outwardly anddownwardly from the frame to which it is secured. This member isindicated by dotted lines in the figure.

The hopper is secured in any suitable manner to a frame constituted ofthree U-shaped members 31 which take on a rectangular configuration, asseen more clearly in Figure 3. The two opposite pairs of members providea support for the bearings 22. The members 31 are, in turn, supported byfour U-shaped uprights 35 which are secured at the bottom to thehorizontal frame members 34. A pair of diagonally disposed U-shapedmembers 33 may extend from each side of the upper frame member 31 to thelower frame 34 for additional rigidity.

- In accordance with one of the stated objects of the invention, it isdesired to move material dumped into the hopper 21 from the lefthandsticky substances, there is a strong-tendency for The opposite sides ofthe frame ,IIa carry a' U-shaped metal member I5 of arcuateconfiguration, the upper end of which is secured to one of the top framemembers I2, and the lower end is secured to the diagonal bar I4. Themember I5 can also be mechanically joined, if desired, to the diagonalI3 for greater rigidity of members I4, I5, as indicated at IT, on eachside of the frame. Thus the cable lies within the groove formed by theflanges or legs of the arcuate members I5.

For pulling on the pair of cables I6, drums I8 are provided, which areconnected through a gear box I9 to an electric motor 20 supported abovethe floor 2I. The frame IIa is adapted to be rotated on bearings 22which are carried by the front or righthand vertical frame members, therotational force being exerted through the cables I6 to hoist the frameand thecontained food tank from the floor to a dumping position, asindicated by the dot-dashlines in Figure 1.

In order to prevent any possibility of the food tank moving out ofposition from the frame during this rotating movement, I provide a tieor look bar 23 (seen more clearly in Figure 6) hinged or pivoted at oneend .to the frame and the other end of which is adapted to engage aretaining hook 24 which is secured to the other side of the frame. Aspring latch at 25 having a beveled contact member 26 may also beemployed to prevent an accidental vertical movement of the lock barafter thelatter has been placed in position. Suitable means (not shown)may be provided to withdraw the latch at 25, so as to permit the bar tobe moved from position and the food tank wheeled from the frame I2.

As shown in Figure 1, the open top of the tank, when in its hoistedposition, registers with the opening in a hopper ,21 which comprisessimply a rectangular casing made with sheet metal sides, the front oneof which carries a bevel, as indicated at 28, and terminates in avertical portion 29. The sides and also the top edge of the hopper maybe strengthened, if desired, by angle iron members 30. The bottom thegrains to collect and stick together. For the conveying and de-lumpingpurposes, I provide a number of parallelly arranged screw conveyors 40adjacently positioned in a horizontal plane. These conveyors consist ofa shaft having on its periphery a helix or continuous screw ll of largepitch, which convey the cereal or other foodstuif in a continuous mannerin the direction to which the screws are pitched and depending upontheirdirection of rotation. For practical reasons, the alternate screwconveyors are rotated in opposite directions and, therefore, pitchedoppositely.

A motor 53 provides rotative power for the sprockets 44 which cause thescrews 4| on the shaft 40 continually to move the cereal or othermaterial contained in the hopper toward the right, as viewed inFigure 1. Any lumps or other non-uniformity in the distribution of thecereal are immediately eliminated by the action of the screws 4| whichserve to churn the cereal.

There is provided an electrical control system for the hoisting portionof the tipple. For practical reasons, it has been found desirable tostart the motor 20 on its hoisting operation by a push button and tocause the motor to reverse its direction of rotation for returning therotating frame IIa to its initial position also by means of a pushbutton. It is also necessary to provide some means which will preventthis reversal of the motor direction until the frame and containedreceptacle have actually reached the dumping position, and likewise toprevent the hoisting operation until the frame and receptacle haveactually reached their initial position. A circuit for accomplishingthis result is shown in Figure 5, which also includes an arrangement bywhich the motor 20 is prevented from hoisting the tipple unless the bar23 is in place to lock the receptacle within the frame. For stillfurther protection, there is included in this circuit a device fordetermining when the hoisting cable is slack. It will be understood thatthe food tank filled with cereal and the frame which surrounds itconstitute a heavy load for the hoisting cables I6; and, if there is anyslackness in one or both cables, a considerable snap isapt to beintroduced when the drum I8 is rotated, which might cause breakage ofthe cable.

For operating the circuit about to be described, a number of switchesare placed in advantageous positions on the tipple. Referring now toFigure mounted, for example,

1, there is a pa r of plunger type switches I01 suitably mounted, forexample, on the angle irons 30. The plungers are so positioned as tocontact with the surface of two oppositely positioned uppermostframemembers I2 so that, as the food tank is moved to a dumpingposition, the plungers of the switches are depressed. These switchescontain a suitably mounted terminal and lever system (not shown), whichcauses an opening of the circuit when the plunger is depressed. One ormore similar switches I08 may be suitably on the upright -35 to have bythe rear or righthand I2 when the frame and contained its plungerdepressed frame member food tank have stion.

A switch I08a is also suitably mounted directly under the lock bar 23 sothat the latter will contact with the plunger of the switch when it isin locking position. This switch is different from I only in that thecontacts close when the lock bar is in position. Still another switchI09, similar to switch I08, is suitably mounted as, for example, on ahanger IIO from the floor 2I (Figure l) and having its plunger incontactwith the cable I6. If the cable becomes slack, it will tend tobulge (as indicated by the dotted line) or opening the contact.

The hoistingmotor 20 is energized preferably from a three-phase system,as indicated by the wires III and through an automatically controlledswitch II2. The blades of this switch are carried on the armature II3 ofan electromagnet III. The connections to the motor are re versed bymeans of an automatically controlled switch II5, the blades of which arecarried on an armature II6 of an electromagnet II1. All of the switchmechanism is preferably mounted on a single panel II8. To the right ofthis panel, there is shown another panel II9, on which are mountedswitches I20, I2I and I22 of the push button spring-biased type. Theseswitches are so constructed that they can complete a circuit through apair of terminals when in their upper or unpressed condition and cancomplete a diiferent circuit across another pair of terminals when theyare pressed against the biasing spring.

As will be seen from the circuit, the righthand upper terminal of theswitch I20 is connected through a conductor I23 to the upper terminal ofthe switch I06. The lefthand upper terminal of the switch I20 isconnected through a conductor I24 to a pivoted lever I25, one end ofwhich carries a contact I26 and the other end is secured to the armatureII6. Directly opposite from the contact I26, there is a contact I21which is connected through a conductor I20 to the lower righthandterminal of the switch I2 I. The lower lefthand terminal of the switchI20 is connected through a conductor I29 to a pivoted lever I30 which issecured at one end to the armature H3 and at the other end carries acontact I3I. This contact is positioned opposite to a contact I32 whichis connected through a conductor I33 and through switch I08a andconductor I34 to the lower righthand terminal of the switch I20. Theupper lefthand terminal of the switch I2I is connected by a conductorI35 to the lower lefthand terminal of the switch I20. The upperrighthand terminal of the switch I2I is connected by a conductor I36 toboth of the switches I01. The lower lefthand terminal of the switch I2Iis in some other manner remove the pressure against the plunger of theswitch, thus tank are in their floor been returned to their initialpoelect fomagnet would not have been established the switch I08a,

, 3 connected by conductor I31 to the upper lefthand terminal of theswitch I20. The upper lefthand terminal of the switch I22 is connectedthrough a conductor I38 to the righthand line of the three-phase system.The upper right hand terminal of the switch I22 is connected through aconductor I39 to the switch I09. The lower terminals of, the switchesI00, I09 and the lower terminal of one of the switches I01 are connectedtogether by conductor I40.

Assume that the frame I2 and the contained position and it is desired tolift the tank to the dumping position, the switch I20 is presseddownward to make contact its lower position),

(in its upper position). conductor I36, through both switches I01 andswitch I09, switch I 22 (in its upper position) and conductor I38 to therighthand line of the threephase system. The electromagnet becomesenergized and pulls its armature to the left and closes the circuitthrough the switch II2 to the motor 20.

It is apparent that the circuit through the either the lock bar 23 werenot in place to close or the switches I01 were not closed. Had the frame/I 2 and the contained remains energized, even though the switch I20 isreturned to its initial position and consequently the cable pair I6rotates the frame and its contained food tank to the dump ng positionshown in Figure 2. When they reach this position, the plungers of theswitches I01 are forced downwardly, which thereupon opens the circuitthrough the conductor I36.

When it is desired to reverse the rotation of the drum I8 to lower theframe and the food tank to the floor, the switch I2I is presseddownwardly to contact with its two lower terminals. A circuit is thenestablished from the righthand side of the three-phase system throughconductor I38, switches I22, I09, conductor I40, switch I08, conductorI23, switch I20, conductor I31, switch I2I (in its lower position),conductor I28, coil II1, through the trip switch I to the middle line ofthe three-phase system. This circult causes the electromagnet II1 toenergize and to close the switch II5 which, as will be noted, serves toreverse two of the phases of the threephase system to the motor. Aholding circuit is also establishedat the contacts I26, I21 through theconductor I24, switch I20, conductor I23, switch I", conductor I40,switches I08, I22, conductor Ill to the righthand side of the line.

Starting at the contact I21, the rest of the holdthrough the holdingcircuit. It will be noted that the switch I08 is included in thisholding circuit so that, if it were opened as might be the case when theframe and the food tank were in their lower position, pressing of theswitch I2l would not serve to cause a reversal of the connections to themotor.

It is, therefore, apparent that I have provided an electrical controlsystem which prevents rotation of the motor in a hoisting direction incase the frame and contained food tank are in their elevated or dumpingposition and the control system likewise prevents a reversal of themotor in case the frame and food tank are in their lower or loadingposition. The switch I22 is a hand-operated emergency switch and iscontained serially in the circuits which control the hoisting andlowering operations of the motor. Thus, these operations can be stoppedat any time by breaking the circuit at the switch I22.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my inventionsuch modifications as come within the scope of the claims and theinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tipple for hoisting a cereal-containing receptacle from an initialto a dumping position, said tipple comprising a rotatable frame whichreceives and substantially surrounds the receptacle, said frame beingpivoted near its upper edge for rotation purposes, means for locking thereceptacle in said frame, means for rotating the frame about its pivotsuntil the receptacle is brought into dumping position, and meansresponsive to an unlocked condition of said locking means for preventingthe actuation of said rotating means.

2. A tipple for hoisting. a cereal-containing receptacle from an initialto a dumping position, said tipple comprising a frame adapted toreceive'the receptacle, and means for locking the receptacle"- in saidframe, means including a cable and drum for hoisting the frame until thereceptacle is brought into dumping position. and means responsive to anunlocked condition of said locking means and to a slack condition insaid cable for preventing the actuation of said hoisting means.

3. A tipple for hoisting a cereal-containin receptacle from an initialto a dumping position, said tipple comprising a frame adapted to receivethe receptacle, means for locking the receptacle in the frame, meansincluding a cable and drum for moving the frame until the receptacle isbrought into a dumping position and then returned, and means forpreventing the operation of said drum in either direction when thereceptacle is unlocked in the frame and when there is a slack conditionof the cable.

DONALD E. MARSHALL.

